News

Hosted by Grow Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Phipps, this year's Seed Swap will be bigger than ever! Come to exchange and procure seeds, attend a workshop, and meet fellow gardeners.

Our planning meeting will be held this year on February 8th, 9:30 am at Biddle's Escape.

This year we are back and more organized than ever! We are your best source for FREE GARDENING CLASSES AND NETWORKING EVENTS hosted by local, experienced gardeners. We've participated and hosted over 100 meetups in the past 5 years, and we plan to continue offering topics including everything from basic gardening, wild-crafting, cooking, to advanced permaculture design. From beginner to expert, we have something for everyone.

This "open-space" style meeting is for networking, feedback, and planning out the year's events schedule. If you'd like to learn, teach, or share about your backyard gardening skills, this is the place to be!

Come with ideas for workshops and workdays you'd like to see or be willing to lead. Dream about warm weather, and share your experiences gardening in the Burgh. Beginners and experts are invited to share.

Join Us:

To host or teach a gardening class in 2014 To meet and network with urban farmers and gardeners To promote and share your neighborhood gardening projects To give your all important feedback which keeps our group growing!

Description:This is a classroom-based course offering an introduction to honey bee biology and basic approaches to beekeeping.The course will include:an overview of honey bee biology in order to understand the challenges facing honey bees, and an overview of the basic equipment and techniques necessary to be a successful beekeeper.The goal is for students to learn how to keep bees for the first year.There will be an opportunity for an onsite apiary visit if the weather permits for interested students who have protective gear.

Instructor:Joseph Zgurzynski, a Master Beekeeper with over 30 years of experience

Course Fee:$115, includes one year of after class mentoring via email and phone, numerous hand outs, coffee, and a certificate of completion.PASA members receive a $10 discount on the class. Pre-Registration Required. For a registration form, please email [email protected], or call 412-225-0930.

This Workshop is Offered in Cooperation with PASA and the Good Food Neighborhood

Plant to Plate, Pitt's student run urban garden project, recently received an abundance of cedar and pine wood chips, and are looking to give away the excess. For pick-up arrangements please email [email protected]

It's that time of year again, where I seem to be starting seeds non-stop! I have fun, but I am exhausted! I started a lot of hot peppers, tomatoes, leeks, herbs, lettuce. I lifted the plastic off a section of where my leeks over-wintered and saw new sprouts on my chives already!

Starting my second year on the chickens. I have more eggs than I can use. Nice to see my son (teen) go out to the chicken run, get out the eggs, and come in to make himself breakfast LOL! Neighbors like the chickens...who knew? I have organic feed delivered to my doorstep for about the same price it would cost me to drive overto Regent Square to AnimalNature. Saves on gas and my precious time. Weekends are always so packed and I'd rather be out gardening than spending time in the car to go buy chicken feed :0)

This cold weather has to go! I am ready to get out there and get started!

Anybody have any experience with building greenhouses out of old windows here? I am thinking the frost heave is going to be an enemy. I was originally thinking of doing it like you do portable sheds but without a floor so it just sits on top of the ground...well, resting on cinder blocks...? What do you think?

One hundred trees are being planted throughout downtown Millvale this spring. On Saturday, April 6th we will meet at the library and plant about 50 of them. The other half will be planted on April 20 as part of a neighborhood-wide clean up and green up effort.

Breakfast, drinks, and lunch will be provided by Western Pa Conservancy! Yum. Yum.

At the future home of the Millvale Community Library, 213 Grant Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15209

2. Soil - starting from empty lot to vegetable garden, sheet mulching and cultivating beneficial fungi and microbes is probably the best cheapest way. Break the soil up without turning it over and mulch on top. Use any organic material such as newspapers (we think the ink is plant-based) cardboard, compost, woody stuff, plant wastes, leaves, clippings. You can make great soil from just dry leaves. Make sure to agitate the soil to continue to get air so your biology can breathe. Look up more on Mother Earth News: "lasagna gardening". To make it look nice, use a raised bed.

3. Aquaponics = water + plants + fish tanks. Our freind, Mark has a setup where the dirty fish water feeds the plants and the plants filter the water for the next pass through the fish tank. We look forward to featuring his setup and pictures in another meetup very soon.

We also received some solid ideas for classes including a "Getting Started" gardening talk by Jeff O., "Aquaponics" by Mark, Maren's House Tours (link above), and planting trees in Millvale on April 6.

Has it been 5 years already? I've learned so much from this group. I am excited to see you all for a new season of gardening skills sharing. ~Jeff

5th Annual PGE Planning Meeting

Saturday Feb 16th. 2:00pm

Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill

Please join us for the 5th Annual PGE Planning Meeting. This "open-space" style meeting is for networking, feedback, and planning out our 2013 events schedule. If you'd like to learn, teach, or share about your backyard gardening skills, this is the place to be!

Dream about warm weather, and share your experiences gardening in the Burgh. Beginners and experts are invited to share. This year we will continue our Free Member-Supported Gardening Class Programs with indoor discussion groups and outdoor working groups.

Hi I wanted to share this class. I've been to a few of Carol's free veggie growing lectures and they are great!
Late season planting:
learn about planting vegetables now for harvest into winter and spring
Thursday Sept 6th at 6:30 pm @
McKeesport Carnegie Library
RSVP on the McKeesport Carnegie library website
mckeesportlibrary.org.